Starburst is one of NetEnt’s most famous slot machines, which rose to fame shortly after it was launched back in 2012. It is a timeless classic that remains as relevant and interesting today as it was when it was first released. Starburst is one of the most popular slots you’ll find on the internet, and it’s often the designated slot for free spins promotions and free spins welcome offers.
The simplicity of Starburst video slot is part of the genius of this great game, and it’s all played out on 5 reels with 10 paylines (wins both ways). A sweet hint of nostalgia for the old arcade halls is always present, but never overwhelming. There is too much going on for that, and while there is really only one bonus feature, you will never feel like you are missing out on anything as you play.
The main attraction and sparkling gem of this game is without a doubt the Starburst ™ Wilds feature. Even though this is a low variance game, you can still win big if you are lucky. Starburst is a dynamic, fun and dazzling attraction that you will come back to again and again.
RTP, variance and technical data of Starburst
Before we dive into the fun stuff, we want to give you a quick overview of the technical details of Starburst:
- RTP: 96.09%
- Volatility / variance: low
- Layout: 5×3
- Paylines: 10 (win both ways)
- Bonus features: Respin Wild, Respins, Expanding Wilds or Wild Rush
- Rates: from 0.01 to 100
- Maximum winnings (coins): 50,000
Starburst has an RTP of 96.1%, which is roughly in line with the average. Most slots have an RTP of about 96%. RTP stands for Return to Player, which is a theoretical number showing how much a given slot will pay out in the long run. So the Starburst casino edge is 100% minus 96.1%, which is 3.9%. The low variance or volatility of this game means your bankroll won’t fluctuate much when you play Starburst. Low volatility means you can often expect to get many small payouts, which is good if you want to clear the bonus or just want a ton of fun without risking too much.
Overall Review
Starburst has proven long ago to be the timeless status of one of the most famous and popular online slots. NetEnt really hit the spot with this game and it’s just something about sparkling jewels and light-hearted music that puts you in a good mood when you play this thing.
Low volatility limits your losses while still having the opportunity to win big. Combined with the above, it’s no surprise that people can’t get enough of this slot. The secret to success may be that this game just makes you feel good while playing without relying on all sorts of special effects and fancy features. It’s just old honest entertainment through and through.
The vibrant colors, fast paced pace, and arcade nostalgia certainly help, too. In this game, you can only wager 10p and the maximum bet is £ 100 per spin. You can win in both ways, which is always fun, and the expanding Starburst jokers will blow your senses just like the rest of the game. This game is a true demonstration of how simplicity can trump almost anything when done right, and NetEnt did pretty much everything right with this little gem.
Bonus features
As mentioned, this is not your typical NetEnt game packed with tons of unusual special effects and bonus features. In truth, Starburst only has one bonus feature, which makes it stand out even more. We’ll take a look at this here.
Expanding Spin of Sticky Jokers
Starburst is widely known for its expanding wild feature. Wilds can appear on any of the 3 medium reels and then expand to cover the entire reel and remain sticky for up to 3 re-spins. The expanding Wild feature is not only about fun but also huge wins.
The rest of the reels not covered by the expanding Starburst Wild will re-spin and you now have the chance to land another expanding sticky wild which will give you an extra re-spin. The feature ends when no more Starburst Wild symbols appear during the re-spin.
Free Spins
Starburst doesn’t have a dedicated free spins feature, but the Starburst Wild feature gives you re-spins with sticky expanding wilds, which at least looks like. Most casinos offer free spins on Starburst quite often, and you will find Starburst featured casinos at the very end of this review.
How to play at Starburst?
While Starburst is a fairly simple game, NetEnt’s betting level system can be somewhat complex. Don’t worry, here we will walk you through everything you need to know to get started with this game and master it right from the start.
So here you can choose the denomination of the coin from 0.01 to 1, and there are 10 different bet levels. The good news is that NetEnt allows you to see the total bet in currency under the spin button area, so it’s not that hard to keep track of what all the “moving parts” are actually doing. You can end up playing anywhere from £ 10 to £ 100, but unfortunately the paytable in this game is not dynamic.
This means that the values of the symbols do not change depending on the level of your bet. Instead, they statically display the winnings at the same line bet for each symbol and combination. If you want to know how much each symbol pays for a total bet, you just need to divide the given symbol value by the number of ways to win, which is 10. This means that the highest paying BAR symbol pays 25 times your total bet for 5 on a payline.
The small wrench icon at the bottom left corner will take you to the game settings menu. Here you can turn on fast spins, select a spin with the spacebar and turn on / off the splash screen. The volume can be easily adjusted, and the info icon will take you to the paytable. Here you can read about the bonus features of the game and get an overview of the symbol meanings.
The question mark icon will take you to the game rules menu, where you will get a quick overview of all the rules that apply when you play the game. It also displays stats for some games that are worth taking a quick look at. The autoplay option allows you to choose from 10 to 1000 auto spins, and you will also benefit from advanced options such as stopping the autoplay function after winning or losing a certain amount.
Play for real money at Crypto Casino
Since this is such a simple game, most people will have no problem using it with real money. The volatility is somewhat low, so staying afloat is not that difficult, which means you don’t risk that much as long as you play with a reasonable level of stakes. If you’d like to check out our selection of verified crypto casinos (and their respective welcome bonuses), you can simply follow the link at the top of this page. Here you can choose and start playing and winning real money immediately on Starburst.
Experience 200 Spins Starburst
When we downloaded Starburst, we were fully aware that this is the most popular online slot ever created. Nothing beats Starburst in terms of inclusion in bonus offers or slot position in online casinos. It has stood the test of time like sparkling jewels on drums.
The game loads very quickly, which is probably due to its simplicity, and we were looking forward to using this beauty for our traditional and exciting 200 spin test run. We started by enabling quick spins and then set the bet level to our usual £ 1 per spin. We set up an autoplay feature with 250 spins as there was no option for 200.
We knew this was supposed to be a lower volatility slot and a bit frivolous, but it didn’t really feel like our initial session. We do prefer the higher risk / reward games, but it was a bit surprising to see how quickly our bankroll was drained by this perceived lightweight. The number of dead spins was surprisingly high, and the wins we got in the first 100 spins didn’t even come close to keeping us afloat.
We lost around £ 70 after 100 spins, and since there wasn’t a bonus round we could expect, we wondered how this would end up. We ran the single bonus feature – an expanding sticky wild re-spin – many times during our session, but the result was never spectacular. We once won a maximum of 16 times our stake using this feature, and our bankroll continued to bleed out like a killed animal.
After our 250-spin nightmare finally ended, we pinched our hand and asked ourselves why this game is so popular in the world. We’ve just been abused with a supposedly lower variance slot like Dead or Alive 2 on crack, and to be honest, we felt cheated. We fully understand that 200 spins is far from enough to be statistically reliable, but still.
Needless to say, our preference for high risk / reward slots was in no way compromised after this session, and we really hope you have a lot more luck with a newbie than we did. We understand that Starburst offers a light-hearted, simple and charming gameplay, but our test run just proves how subjective your judgment can get if you solely base it on such a small session. Consider this as it is, a fun first impression, rather than an assessment of the overall quality and status of the game.
Jackpot (Max Win) at Starburst
There is no progressive or local jackpot at Starburst, but that doesn’t mean you can’t win big at this game. The maximum win is 50,000 coins, which is not bad for a low variance slot. The key to winning big is the Starburst Wildcard Expansion feature detailed above. If you manage to land 3 expanding wilds, the payoffs can be huge.
Mobile devices and tablets in Starburst
Starburst is available on any mobile platform and you can play on the go using any type of smartphone or tablet. It doesn’t matter if you prefer Google’s Android or Apple’s iOS. You can play with iPhone, iPad and any other mobile device you want. This way, you never have to get bored while waiting for friends in the pub or on public transport. Let others look out the window while you are busy with your next big win.
Popular Slot verdict
Starburst is much more than the sum of its parts, and there is something magical about it that cannot really be defined or expressed in words.
The amount of positive and reinforcing feedback you get from this slot while playing is overwhelming, to say the least. It seems that every small win is almost as if you hit a huge jackpot. This may be part of the success, but it cannot fully explain Starburst’s paradoxical conundrum. The secret is part of the attraction, just like the secret ingredient in Coca-Cola.
Each spin is a pleasure, even if nothing special happens, which cannot be said about too many slot machines. The dazzlingly expanding Starburst Wilds takes the game to the next level – a hidden plateau where huge wins are suddenly possible on a low variance slot. There is always excitement in the air, and you will never get tired of this simple game, just as it will never get tired of you.